Zach Praktum/Relationships
Being one member of the main squad/crew, Zach has forged relationships with nearly the entire cast of the story. Some are good, some are bad. First Timeline Michael Eon Michael is Zach's best friend, so naturally, they're on excellent terms. Their conflicting personalities cause minor conflicts, but they're quickly resolved. Michael's politeness and fantastic manners are a mirror image of Zach's snarkiness and general informality, and the two serve as a counterweight for each other. Up until Zach and Madison started dating, Michael had a crush on Zach, but refused to let anyone know about it. He kept it a secret until they learned all of each other's secrets when their souls fused in the fight against Kaira. This didn't happen to any of the other of Zach's allies whose souls fused with his, due to the lack of a strong enough bond between them. In the beginning of their relationship, Zach despised Michael because of how different they were, and the feeling was mutual. Throughout the course of their adventures together, the two became nearly inseparable, becoming better friends than Zach's original wingman, Lucas. Ever since being trapped in the DxD timeline, Zach's bond with Michael has only gotten stronger. They see each other as the only people they can really rely on due to their situation. Their friendship has allowed them to feed off of each other's auras, resulting in them both getting power boosts when near each other. However, after Eren entered the picture, Michael became somewhat distant and he and Zach are now far from the inseparable duo they were when they arrived. Madison Aldridge Madison is Zach's girlfriend and another counterweight in his life. Their relationship, like with Michael, started out rocky, but the pair grew to like each other over time. She was originally little more than a "self-centered older sister" in Zach's eyes, but as they matured, he began to have romantic feelings for her and their relationship turned into more of a flirty friendship than a friendly rivalry. As the pair adventured around with their friends, they ended up in many rather awkward situations together ("I was smiling down upon you two all your lives. You made such a cute love story!" - Aphrodite, goddess of love). These only pushed them together, albeit thanks to godly interference. The two made a great team in battle, knowing how to easily use each other's strengths and cover each other's weaknesses. During the final acts of the endgame in the First Timeline, the two began getting even closer, but not officially dating. Whenever it was needed, they'd go so far as to pretend to be dating for whatever reason. None of their allies were really sure what was going on during that part of the story. After the multiverse was restored and Zach had returned from being sealed with the three deities, Maddie officially confessed her romantic feelings for Zach, and the two began their relationship. Their time together was short, however, because of Zach being trapped in the DxD timeline. She took over the Vanguard in his place, along with Nexus. She does her best to keep things running the way Zach would want, but it gets difficult sometimes. Lucas Nighthawk The original "best friend" character, Lucas and Zach have known each other since childhood. They awakened their powers on the same day and were inseparable during their first year of training. It was Lucas's encouragement that allowed Zach to Unbind, helping him stop Nexus. Over the next couple years, they began to grow apart thanks to the introduction of Maddie and Michael. Despite this, they remained on very good terms and became friendly rivals. After the fusion of their souls, Lucas gained a bit of the Phoenix of Rebellion's power in exchange for Zach getting a bit from Lucas's Sacred Artifact, the Griffin of Justice. He is the only important character from the First Timeline to never join the Vanguard. When Zach and Michael disappeared, Lucas was training to get strong enough to remain on par with Zach. After hearing about how Zach and Michael disappeared, he returned to help run things in their place, though he refuses to be officially considered part of the Vanguard. Nexus Nexus is Zach's grandfather and the main antagonist of the first part of Zach's origin story. The two despised each other before learning they were related, and after that, Nexus became a sort of mentor to him. As an Ace in the Vanguard, Nexus took over after Zach and Michael's disappearance. He tries his best to run it as they would with help from Madison. Occult Research Club Rias Gremory Zach and Rias didn't like each other at first but have since set aside their differences and become almost like siblings. They co-lead the Occult Research Club (despite Rias's initial objections) and Zach acts as a backup leader for the group in case Rias and Akeno are both unable to do so. Akeno Himejima Zach and Akeno are on good terms. She was one of the only two members of the club not to initially despise or be afraid of Zach after he betrayed Raynare and the other Fallen Angels. They have a slightly flirty relationship, but neither of them wants it to go any further than that for mostly separate reasons. Asia Argento Zach and Asia are good friends now, but she was initially terrified of him. He was, after all, partially responsible for her death. She knows how strong he is, and doesn't want to see that kind of devastating power used on anyone, regardless of how bad they are. Zach is almost as protective of Asia as Issei, due to the fact that even though Zach and Michael were Raynare's accomplices in her murder, Asia was still kind enough to forgive them and call them her friends. Zach still feels like he has to make up for his previous actions. With Asia being a soft-spoken and kind person and Zach being somewhat outspoken and sarcastic, their personalities clash to a degree. He likes to tease her about her crush on Issei but also tries to help her win his affection. Koneko Toujou Koneko is the other member of the club that was okay with Zach from the start. Soon after the two became better acquainted, Zach began seeing her as a little sister, and she saw him as a brother. They're very protective of each other, and provide each other with emotional support when it's needed. Zach serves as a mentor, teaching Koneko how to use her Nekomata powers effectively. Yuuto Kiba Kiba disliked Zach at first due to his arrogant nature, but the two are now friends and respect each other as equals. Kiba trains Zach in swordplay in their off time, and Zach helps Kiba learn to use his Balance Breaker in the best way possible. Issei Hyoudou Issei hated Zach at first and was the hardest team member for Zach to win over. They finally became genuine friends during Issei's training for the Rating Game against Riser Phenex. He's now a good friend of Zach's and possibly his best friend in the DxD timeline, despite their rivalry. Issei wants to one day be strong enough to beat Zach in a fight, and Ddraig wants to show he's stronger than "a bird's claw made from a cheap knockoff of the Boosted Gear." Little-known fact: he's actually weaker. Xenovia Quarta While Zach and Xenovia are able to tolerate each other and work together to a degree, neither of the two is necessarily happy about the other being around. Zach is still upset with Xenovia for calling Asia a heretic for leaving the Church and becoming a devil (something Zach nearly kills Xenovia for during their first meeting), and Xenovia simply doesn't trust Zach. She believes he's up to no good, despite the constant help he gives Xenovia and the rest of Rias's peerage. After the first battle against Loki, Xenovia and Zach's relationship was slightly better than before, but it still wasn't a positive one by any means. Their relationship gradually improved since then, and by the Tournament of the Black Temple, they're at least able to admit that they don't dislike each other, even if they're still not really friends. Irina Shidou Irina and Zach are close friends. Zach managed to break Irina free of her crush on Issei, but it had the unforeseen consequence of causing Irina to develop a crush on Zach. Despite still living with Issei, she often spends nights at Zach and Michael's house, occasionally sleeping with Zach. They also work well together in battle, despite their different fighting styles. Gasper Vladi Gasper was terrified of Zach until the Khaos Brigade revealed themselves to the world and attacked Kuoh Academy. During that fight, Zach saved Gasper's life a number of times. In the days following the attack, Gasper and Zach became fairly good friends, but Gasper has admitted that Zach does still scare him a little. Sona Sitri's Peerage Sona Sitri Zach and Sona are on good terms and are fierce rivals, as expected of two masters of fire and water, respectively. After their training in the Underworld during Volume V, the two have grown into true friends and swore to work as hard as they can to improve themselves and each other. Sona vowed to surpass Zach someday, claiming that she was the best counter to his power, so she had to be ready to fight him and win if he ever went rogue. Tsubaki Shinra Tsubaki is on good terms with Zach, despite their refusal to fight alongside each other for reasons unknown unless forced to. Tsubaki also considers Zach very rude, which stems from an offensive thing Zach said when the two initially met. Zach has tried to make amends, but they have been less than well-received, especially with him often teasing her for her crush on Kiba. Genshirou Saji Saji and Zach are friendly rivals, much like Zach and Issei. They have a special combo move called Electro-Absorbtion, where Zach charges Saji's Absorbtion Line with electricity, which damages the opponent and absorbs their power at the same time, transferring it to both Zach and Saji. Zach is on neutral terms with the rest of Sona's peerage. Other Devils Sirzechs Lucifer Zach and Sirzechs are good friends with a master-student relationship. Zach trains under the guidance of him, Serafall Leviathan, Azazel, and Michael. Before this, they were on rather neutral terms. Serafall Leviathan Zach and Serafall are flirty friends with a master-student relationship. She helps train him, attempting to free his full strength from the seal reality itself placed on him when he entered the DxD timeline. If they succeed, his power will be superior to a Satan's and rival that of mid-tier gods. Riser Phenex Zach and Riser had a burning (pun intended) hatred for each other. Zach calls him and his entire family "false Phoenixes" due to their being devils whose name is homonymous with the word phoenix. Riser thinks Zach cheated in his and Issei's one-on-one battle because Zach gave Issei a Phoenix's Blessing right before the fight, which resulted in Riser's humiliation. After Issei and Zach worked together to make Riser come out of his slump and cure his fear of dragons, Zach and Riser have a new respect for each other, but by no means are they friends. The Phenex Family Like with Riser, the Phenex family & Zach hated each other, and for the same reasons. Even after Zach and Riser made peace, the rest of the Phenex family (not counting Ravel) still thinks Zach is the only reason Riser and Rias are no longer engaged and that the battle between Riser and Issei was unfair. Diodora Astaroth Zach despised Diodora, and wishes he was the one to kill him. As soon as they met, Zach sensed corruption within Diodora that was almost too powerful to dispel. By the time Diodora died, he was only about an hour away from transforming into a monster. Vali Team Vali Lucifer Vali sees Zach as a secondary rival, behind Issei. Despite being on opposing sides, they are on friendly terms, and if Zach is desperate for intel on the Khaos Brigade, Vali will usually give it to him. They like to joke around with each other, with Issei often being the subject of the joke. Regardless of their friendship, if the time comes, neither will hesitate to kill the other. However, Vali has admitted to Zach that he and his team are looking for a way to leave the Khaos Brigade. Arthur Pendragon Zach has a deep respect and admiration for Arthur, but wouldn't call him a real friend. They are respectful to one another, but beyond that, they have no real relationship. Kuroka Kuroka has shown mild interest in Zach for the same reasons that she was interested in Issei and Vali: she wants to have powerful children to keep her species alive. Zach is conflicted about how he thinks of Kuroka. On one hand, he dislikes her because she's a murderer and working for the Khaos Brigade, but at the same time, he finds her to be fascinating. Kuroka and Koneko's species, the Nekoshou, is extinct in the First Timeline, as well as Nekomata in general, so he'd never seen one in person before his first meeting with Kuroka. Thanks to this fact, he was in awe of her until he discovered she was with the Khaos Brigade in Volume IV. As Bikou says during Zach and Kuroka's first meeting, "It's like you two and Zach are competing for the 'Sarcastic, hot asshole' award." Bikou Zach and Bikou have a similar relationship to the former and Vali, but slightly more playful. They spar together every so often, and Bikou is a secondary source of intel for Zach. Angels Michael Michael and Zach have a master-student relationship. They can't be considered friends, but they do respect each other. Fallen Angels Azazel Zach and Azazel have a master-student relationship. As fellow Fallen Angels, they work closer together than Zach's other mentors. Azazel also helps Zach develop new strategies using his Fallen Angel abilities. Raynare Raynare was Zach's boss when he and Michael first arrived in this timeline. She tried on multiple occasions to seduce Zach, but was turned down. After he realized how evil Raynare really was, he betrayed her and helped the Occult Research Club bring her down. After learning that Raynare was revived by Ophis, Zach began to wonder what made Raynare special enough to be valuable to the Khaos Brigade. Baraqiel Zach resents Baraqiel for deserting Akeno when she was young but knows he had important business to attend to. Baraqiel is unsure of what to think of Zach but respects him nonetheless. Gods Odin Zach and Odin are on good terms, and Odin calls him a poker buddy despite them never playing poker. Aphrodite (First Timeline) Zach doesn't like Aphrodite too much. He's glad she intervened in his love life and brought him and Madison together, but would have preferred to have handled that situation himself, on his own terms. Aphrodite sees Zach (and by extension, Madison) as nothing more than characters in a cute love story, written by Aphrodite herself.